“Oh, of course! Wow, how are you guys?” I say smiling.
“We are good,” Aaiden says. “Surprised to see you again.” He had grown up a lot from the little ten-year-old boy that instead of hanging out with other boys, had followed Fiona around like she hung the moon. He was tall and had filled out in the chest. You could tell he worked out and he held himself like a guy that played football or some contact sport.
“So, are you back? Like really back? Junior year would be great if you were there!” Fiona says, but looks towards my aunt.
“Oh, guys, this is my Aunt Irene and my cousin Ezra. Irene this is Fiona, Blythe, and Aaiden.”
Irene, already standing, nods her head. “Nice to meet you all. We are still not sure how long we are staying. I’ve been trying to convince Vi to stay. Maybe you can all help sway her.”
“We will get right on that!” Blythe squeaks and hugs me. “I can’t believe you’re back!”
“As you may remember, Blythe gets a little excited,” Fiona says.
I try to breathe as her little arms crush me. “Oh yes, this I remember!” I can’t believe I forgot about them even for a moment. I know I’ve learned to push a lot of things out of my mind when I can’t bear to think about it, but Aaiden, Fiona, and Blythe were a good memory. After my mother’s disappearance, they were the first people I wanted to contact. I just didn’t know how. Eventually as the days went on, I got more and more upset. Friends were the last thing on my mind, I guess.
“Why don’t you all go catch up,” Irene laughs at Blythe’s enthusiasm. “I’m going to go see what it will take to get Ezra on a plane.”
“Yes!” Ezra exclaims before stuffing the rest of his hotdog into his mouth. “Comm omm!” he garbles at his mother with his mouth full.
For the first time since coming to Concrete, I feel excited to get up and do something. Fiona, Blythe, Aaiden, and I head towards the hangars.
“So, where’s your mom? I remember she makes the best homemade pizza,” Aaiden asks. The easy way he talks about her stops me in my tracks. My heart sinks remembering her making pizza in the tiny apartment’s kitchenette while she belted out oldies hits. The three of them stop walking and turn to see what the holdup is. I try to smile and tell them, but nothing comes out.
“Oh, Violet, I’m so sorry.” Fiona must see something in my face that tells her all I can’t say. The others catch on.
“Vi, I didn’t know, I’m sorry,” Aaiden tells me.
I shake my head. “It’s fine, I understand. She did make great pizza.”
“Since when?” Blythe looks down as she asks, her mood deflated. Her straight brown hair frames her equally brown eyes.
“Six years ago - shortly after we left here. It’s alright, guys, I just was caught off guard. We have moved around a bit, so it’s rare for someone to talk about her.” If I can get over my shock and sadness, it might be nice to talk to someone about the good memories. “I’ve lived with my Aunt Irene since then.”
“So where did you just come from, I mean what brings you guys back up here?” Aaiden, probably just trying to change the subject thankfully, starts us all walking again.
“Oh yeah, you guys remember that big creepy house my mother’s uncle used to live in? Well, he passed away some years ago and I just inherited it. Irene wants to fix it up and live in it.” I shake my head.
“Oh my gosh, that place is haunted!” Blythe, back to her usual self, squeaks.
“I don’t know about haunted, but it’s got some serious dark juju going on,” Fiona says pulling a dark red curl behind her freckled ear. Aaiden’s mouth is just open.
“I know, right, she’s nuts. We will see how it goes.” I’m legally bound to the estate. In my great uncle’s will there was a contract that goes back through many ancestors of my family. The estate and five other ancient houses, one of which is now and museum in Germany, are bound to my family and the Kai name. Upon receiving my inheritance, I had to sign the contract which had a lot of really old language and some of it wasn’t even in English. Basically, though, I’m not allowed to sell them because they belong to my entire line of family, not just me. Since this estate is the only one in the US and the final place my uncle lived, it is where Aunt Irene wanted to come. “If you’re going to own land and a giant house, you might as well live in it,” she had told me over and over.
I told them all about Cali and living on the beach, and my school having over 300 students in just my class versus the 150 students in the entire high school here. I know none of them have lived anywhere outside of the county, so to them living in California is exciting. Aaiden asked if people walk around in swimsuits most of the time and seemed intrigued to think of dark bikini clad girls everywhere. They caught me up on their lives too. Fiona’s parents divorced and she lives with her dad now. She plays volleyball and basketball. Blythe had moved out to Rockport, a town just 8 miles east of Concrete. She was also a cheerleader which did not surprise me at all. Aaiden kept quiet about his family, but he did talk about being on the track team and football team. He also boasted he was in the 300 club, which is an invisible club in the high school for those who can bench 300 pounds. They get their name put up on a board in the high school gym. Fiona and Blythe joke that he must be lying because he whines about picking up dog food bags in the local grocery store where he works. I believe it though; his arms are huge.
We went through all the hangars. Aaiden got in trouble for trying to lift a plane. It was nice hanging out with them, easy. Before long, it was like I had never left at all and I’d known them and this town my whole life. We went over to the elementary school and found the spot we had carved our initials in some logs they used on the ground as barriers to the play area. We walked down to the local diner and had fries and shakes instead of eating at the Fly-In. Ezra found me after he got to ride in one of the planes; even though he didn’t fly the plane himself, he had loved it. He was all lit up and made a friend with another boy his age named Dillon. Aunt Irene was hanging out with Dillon’s mother, whose family had lived in the town almost since it was founded and was as interested in the estate and Aunt Irene.
It was the most fun we had had in three months.
Chapter Three
Violet
After dusk, the crowds moved to Main Street where they have dancing, food, trinkets to buy, and some people setting off fireworks. There is a miniscule old-fashioned movie theatre in town that’s packed with people as well. Once the sun sets, we buy glow sticks to make jewelry out of. Aaiden buys a beanie with a glow in the dark propeller on top. Fiona, Blythe, and I pretend not to know him for the first five minutes he wears it as he spins the top and makes goofy faces at us. We stop by a few vendors, trying out some slices of pie the local radio station DJ’s were selling.
As we walk by the library, something hard smashes into my back. I lose my balance falling forward on to my knees and hands. The skin on my palm scrapes against the cement causing me to hiss in pain as a warm wet tongue begins to attack my face.
“Okay, okay, okay!” I push away what I suspect, by its breath, is a large dog off of me. Fiona helps me up while Aaiden moves the dog which is intent on getting to me. “What was that?” I ask stunned, checking to see if I got dirt or paw prints on my white dress.